Small 18 year old needs some direction

Alright, I am 18, and going to college in the fall. I want to get slightly larger before i go there as I will be with 20 year olds and all. I mean, it really doesn't matter much, but bigger is better. I weigh 135 ish at the moment, and am 5'4''. So yeah, not the biggest kid you'll see. I've been training for a year and a half surprisngly. Little gain, besides being fairly well defined and having good form and all that. I mean, I'm healthy, and vascular, but I want to get big. Ya know, the shorter the are the more important muscle mass is. Anyway, what kind of regimen should I get on. I know the whole eat eat eat thing but I got that, I need a workout. I've been doing doggcrap training. Should I stick with that, or what? Uh, should i get on creatine? I could always just juice, but the seems rash at such a young age.

You have No business with AAS usage for at least 5 more years. Not even a PH imo. Plain and simple. If you're not growing, you're not eating enough. I would highly suggest you start tracking your calories using fitday.com (it's free and awesome). Creatine, sure. I don't use it but others love it, and there is nothing wrong with using it at your stage. As far as routine if you are looking for mass look at a starting strength 5x5 program and learn to lift for your goals.

I highly suggest not using steroids for the following reasons;
- You are 18
- You are struggling to gain naturally

They do not necessarily perform miracles, have a myriad of potential side effects especially for people who take them at such a young age and a lot of people do not gain any significant weight in the long term because they don't have the nutrition to support it. I have many friends that take steroids and I am bigger and leaner than all of them. This is not to say I am in great shape, it is more to say that uneducated use is pointless. They ask me what I am taking.

Very quick and simple tips;
- If you aren't gaining, increase your daily caloric intake by 500 calories, if you are still not gaining after a week, do the same. Repeat until your weight starts increasing.
- Eat your protein first. Calories are important but you can surplus calories and still not gain muscle due to a lack of protein.

What does your nutrition and training plan look like at the moment? The more information you give the more help people will be able to give.

Alright, I am 18, and going to college in the fall. I want to get slightly larger before i go there as I will be with 20 year olds and all. I mean, it really doesn't matter much, but bigger is better. I weigh 135 ish at the moment, and am 5'4''. So yeah, not the biggest kid you'll see. I've been training for a year and a half surprisngly. Little gain, besides being fairly well defined and having good form and all that. I mean, I'm healthy, and vascular, but I want to get big. Ya know, the shorter the are the more important muscle mass is. Anyway, what kind of regimen should I get on. I know the whole eat eat eat thing but I got that, I need a workout. I've been doing doggcrap training. Should I stick with that, or what? Uh, should i get on creatine? I could always just juice, but the seems rash at such a young age.

At 18 years old, you don't need any supplements but the Basic Staples (creatine, multivitamin, good fats, protein, and BCAAs) to gain mass - at your body mass, the only ones I recommend that you get are a multivitamin and creatine, since you should be able to get all your good fats protein, and BCAAs needs from your nutrition. I don't recommend using anything else but these basic staples until you are older and have built up a solid training base - NUTRITION AND TRAINING are what are going to get you results!

You've only been training for ~18 months - you definitely do NOT need to consider the hormonal route yet - NUTRITION AND TRAINING are what are going to get you results!

If you want gains, then you need to eat enough for them, and no supplement is going to help you gain muscle if you're not eating for it, period! NUTRITION and TRAINING are the two factors that you need to focus on. FOOD, FOOD, and MORE FOOD is going to be IMPORTANT - if you want muscle gains, you needs to EAT for it!

Next to nutrition for mass is training. You have to be training correctly for mass - check out the article How To Maximize Mass Through Weights And Adaptation for an idea of how to train correctly for mass. And although The Essential 8 is in the fat loss section, the same exercises that are best for fat loss are also the best for gaining muscle! You also need to get adequate recovery, since it's in your RECOVERY that you GROW (if you are eating enough).

I recommend having a training programme (AND nutrition plan - can't forget your nutrition, since that's what is going to make or break your success with gaining muscle mass!) written specifically for YOU for your goals and needs. If you can't afford a professional trainer, then take some time out to research and look around, because there is a TON of information on training for mass!

I could be wrong, but I got the impression this guy only mentioned steroids half-sarcastically, so I'll just answer his actual question...

Obviously, follow the advice given about diet. That's going to be a big part of it. Aside from that, heres a really simple workout plan for you. M/W/F, do two sets each (three if you need a warm-up) of:

Bench Press (flat or incline)
Shoulder Press (or clean & press)
Dips (weighted if you can handle it)
Pull-ups
Rows (bent over w/barbell or one-arm at a time)
Deadlifts
Squats (if doing both is too much, you can pick either squats OR deads)

Start out with a weight you can hit about five times and stick with that weight until you're in the 8-10 rep range, then add 5-10 lbs. Don't worry about working until you're completely sore and exhausted every time. Just get in and get out. Once you start growing, you can mix it up a little bit if you need to bring up one lagging area or whatever, but the more simple your routine, the more likely you are to grow. Hope this helped!

-Get into the gym 5-6 days a week if possible
-Don't overwork yourself, but do push yourself in your workouts
-Vary your workouts, muscle confusion is important to continue gaining
-Eat more
-Protein: Get some Whey protein if you don't have it already, eat peanuts and eggs (I like to eat about 4 hardboiled a day) on the regular to vary your protein source.
-Carbs are also a must for anyone with fast metabolism trying to gain weight
-Other Supplements: at your age (I'm 20) I recommend vitamins, creatine monohydrate and beta-alanine. Pre-workout is up to your discretion.

dude a simple way to put together a solid program is use the weider principle. When I started out this is what i did and not only did i gain strength but i also added good size. I'm 5'7 and for the longest time i struggled to get over 160 pounds so i know how you feel. Pyramid your sets, start out light and add weight with each set (ex. bench press, 1st set 135x12, 155x10, 175x8, 195x6) buld your routines around the proven mass building compund movements like bench press, deadlift, barbell rows, squats and military press. Find a way to get pumped up for each workout and make sure to up not only your protein intake to at least 1.5 grams per pound but also try to take in complex carbs to get your glycogen up, don't rely on "false energy" eg caffeine and other stims. Use a lot of volume and get intense with your training. Make sure to get a solid amount of sleep, and as i am someone who enjoys going out and getting wasted with the boys out in college town try to minimize alcolhol consumption, alcohol only raises cortisol and lowers test...it's probably the worst thing you can do to yourself on a training day. As for supplementation, it is just that a TOOL. Use the supps to assist your achievment of goals. Use the proven supplements such as creatine monohydrate, arginine akg, beta-alanine, and BCAAs. I don't consider protein and multis to be supplements, if you are serious about lifting then those are a must.

I was using DC when i was in college, it works best with that kind of school schedule so stick with it. Plus IMO its the best for packing on pounds, but unevenly. Now I'm a little more focused on volume and intensity but my goals are very different (pre-competition).

Rosie Chee pretty much nailed it, as always. JohnRock points out some of the best motions to incorporate. At 18y, stick to the basics, dont go crazy. Your testosterone is raging high so dont worry about that. Oh and the juice comment - i know there was sarcasm there but get it out of your head immediately.

diet.Diet.DIET.DIET. You cant make gains without it. Eat OVER maintenance calories. Yes, you will have some wet weight but thats just how it goes (so do light cardio). As long as you eat CLEAN youre fine. Unless, of course, you wanna just size the **** up in which case you should just get an unlimited meal plan for the dining hall and spend 80% of your day there.

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
Franz Kafka

I hate those damn 20 year olds man. Don't worry about them stay in the game for YOU not THEM. Obviously to get big you have to eat big. As for training there are a lot of good articles and workouts floating around, but none of them are the "secret weapon" you have to experiment and see how your body reacts. I would start logging workouts and nutrition, keep journals. Bring a note book to the gym and watch how you grow on paper not just in the mirror. I personally use Loseit.com to log all my nutrition, they have an iphone/pod app (free) and a free website. As for supps. NO GEAR!! you have plenty of juice running through your veins right now. I would stick to basics, get yourself a good multi-vitamin (for athletes...not centrum silver) get some good old whey protein (I prefer Optimum Nutrition or Dymatize) get some creatine (I have great results with CEE) other than that just some good old hard work. Good luck little bro.

Feel free to check out my AH/AL log (not for the PH but for examples of workouts and such)

^Great point. Keep notes on how you eat, feel, sleep and your workouts. Myfitnesspal is pretty good too for mobile apps.
If you're not doing this for yourself, then youre wasting your time. Do this for YOU. Its your health and your body, dont sell into anyone else.

On a side note, you're gonna have a lot of negatives influences around you. I don't mean to preach so I'll keep it short: be smart, kid. I wish I was more determined like that when I went in. Enjoy yourself, but know where to draw the lines and keep em close.

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
Franz Kafka

Lol a funny double entendre. What he is trying to say is keep the white lines away. Stick to pen and paper.

But in all seriousness, stay active on this forum. Don't bother going into the hormone sections. There is a ton of great info on here. I just finished my first year at UNCW and there are some huge guys... but in all seriousness, it's just a wow factor. You can get girls being 145 lbs, 5'4. I guarantee it. I get them at 145 5'6. So you being two inches shorter, would have a nice amount of muscle man.

Once you get there, you'll probably want to go bigger and try out new stuff. Stick to new supplements like creatine, animal packs, proteins, gainers, etc. No boosters. Also, switch up your workout every 2-3 months. If you have any questions, hit me up man. I feel your pain of seeing the big guys next to you benching 300+. But F*** em. I bench 225 and am much smaller than them.

Lol a funny double entendre. What he is trying to say is keep the white lines away. Stick to pen and paper.

Yup, I know that problem. lol

Originally Posted by mxer657

But in all seriousness, stay active on this forum. Don't bother going into the hormone sections. There is a ton of great info on here. I just finished my first year at UNCW and there are some huge guys... but in all seriousness, it's just a wow factor. You can get girls being 145 lbs, 5'4. I guarantee it. I get them at 145 5'6. So you being two inches shorter, would have a nice amount of muscle man.

Once you get there, you'll probably want to go bigger and try out new stuff. Stick to new supplements like creatine, animal packs, proteins, gainers, etc. No boosters. Also, switch up your workout every 2-3 months. If you have any questions, hit me up man. I feel your pain of seeing the big guys next to you benching 300+. But F*** em. I bench 225 and am much smaller than them.

Word. Not every girl is looking for 22" biceps. Hell, most aren't. I take pride in my Zane-esque physique and Im about 155 right now at 23. I know guys cycling tren and my squats are comparable at a body weight deficit of 40lbs. I would rather be smaller with great lining and symmetry than huge and dis-proportioned. You're real young so you'll blow up no problem. The initial years of growth are big.

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
Franz Kafka

Yup, I know that problem. lol Word. Not every girl is looking for 22" biceps. Hell, most aren't. I take pride in my Zane-esque physique and Im about 155 right now at 23. I know guys cycling tren and my squats are comparable at a body weight deficit of 40lbs. I would rather be smaller with great lining and symmetry than huge and dis-proportioned. You're real young so you'll blow up no problem. The initial years of growth are big.

Exactly what I was trying to say. Plus with him being relatively short, he'll see some nice proportion gains and will look pretty sick in 8-12 months.

Dude dont do a cycle. Seriously, at least not now. As someone in college my best advice would be to live on eggs and oats. I did freshman year and made some pretty good progress. In fact, i had an easier time keeping a good diet in college than at home

Lol a funny double entendre. What he is trying to say is keep the white lines away. Stick to pen and paper.

But in all seriousness, stay active on this forum. Don't bother going into the hormone sections. There is a ton of great info on here. I just finished my first year at UNCW and there are some huge guys... but in all seriousness, it's just a wow factor. You can get girls being 145 lbs, 5'4. I guarantee it. I get them at 145 5'6. So you being two inches shorter, would have a nice amount of muscle man.

Once you get there, you'll probably want to go bigger and try out new stuff. Stick to new supplements like creatine, animal packs, proteins, gainers, etc. No boosters. Also, switch up your workout every 2-3 months. If you have any questions, hit me up man. I feel your pain of seeing the big guys next to you benching 300+. But F*** em. I bench 225 and am much smaller than them.

Good post. Also in the same boat. Best part about being smaller is opportunity for big strength gains for your size and weight. Just gotta keep pushing and stay motivated.

Dude dont do a cycle. Seriously, at least not now. As someone in college my best advice would be to live on eggs and oats. I did freshman year and made some pretty good progress. In fact, i had an easier time keeping a good diet in college than at home

Agree and disagree.

It can be easier in 1) you can find friends with similar interests 2) the gym is free and probably always open 3) the dining hall.
I can be challenging in 1) you find friends with bad influences 2) the dining hall serves a LOT of garbage 3) you probably dont have a kitchen/apartment but a dorm

I hate staying by my parents house. they only have "normal people" food and never cook the way i need during diet.

By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it. The nonexistent is whatever we have not sufficiently desired.
Franz Kafka

Yer only 18, so yer hardly done growing naturally.
You can always pound the supps, but most of yer progress will come via diet & routine.

A routine/style of training I like is the FST-7 stuff. I'm a sucker for high volume, & I responded real well. I put on a good 10-12lbs in about 1-2 months with nothing else but Up Your Mass & Animal Stak.

However, I think with only a year or so of serious lifting yer still fairly green. I would say to experiment with all the different training styles you can (high volume, HIT, etc.) & see what you respond to best.

Just got to college, thanks for all the input. Didn't realize so many people posted back. Sitting on the nutraplanet website trying to decide which sups to buy. It's hard not to go for the prohormones with the liberty of having them sent right to me without the parents. I plan on staying natural though. I've been looking, trying to decide on a good creatine. Will c-bol/ cre-02 really be that much better than a 10$ container of creatine mono? I need to save some money. A pre-workout would be nice. I'm gonna go with some creatine, BCAAs, arginine, and anything else anyone wants to recommend. looking into this workout now, seems pretty sic -->http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...oulders/monday . Let me know what you's think, I'll keep steady tabs

Good to see ya back little bro, go with your creatine, and check out some of the promos. There's is a lot of freebies floating around, and a lot of opportunities to log products and win free products. Stay active, learn, and grow.

Definitely DONT mess with ph's man... Ur only 18 your body is peaking for the next 2-3 years.. Once u hit 21-22 then u can expiriment with mild test boosters, once those lose their kick, then u can move to ph's around 24-25 years of age if u want! But a lot of guys (including myself) were foolish and ignorant and have damages our bodies permanently from taking things we shouldn't have...

If u want to get bigger, creatine and bcaa, lots of HEALTHY food! Alcohol will stunt your growth! Lift heavy with proper form 3-4 days a week... Keep it simple if ur just starting ! Your body will respond n then u can tweak things accordingly.. Good luck!

Alright, I am 18, and going to college in the fall. I want to get slightly larger before i go there as I will be with 20 year olds and all. I mean, it really doesn't matter much, but bigger is better. I weigh 135 ish at the moment, and am 5'4''. So yeah, not the biggest kid you'll see. I've been training for a year and a half surprisngly. Little gain, besides being fairly well defined and having good form and all that. I mean, I'm healthy, and vascular, but I want to get big. Ya know, the shorter the are the more important muscle mass is. Anyway, what kind of regimen should I get on. I know the whole eat eat eat thing but I got that, I need a workout. I've been doing doggcrap training. Should I stick with that, or what? Uh, should i get on creatine? I could always just juice, but the seems rash at such a young age.

When my son was your age he was pretty skinny, maybe 135 but 5'10 or so, so I think you're probably doing pretty good so far. He's 21 now and probably around 170, he's not exactly a body builder but he is pretty darn tough, I'd say less than 10% body fat for sure. It took a while, but he really stronged up. He built up a good base by running and doing push-ups. He started with 3 km (2 mi) 3 times/wk and over a couple years worked up to 10 km (6 mi). After a run he he would throw down a bunch of pushups, I think he got up to 100. Over the last year he switched his diet to high protein (lots of meat + 2-3 shakes/day), and got a job working on a service rig, which is when he started putting on most of the extra mass.

So, if you've been training for 1.5 years, you should be roughly where he was a year ago, so it should be pretty easy for you to add some weight. All you will need to do is lift mind numbingly heavy weights, eat your weight in steak & chicken each week, and drink a gallon of milk mixed with protein powder every day. BTW that stuff's not cheap when you go through 5 lb a month, if your parents can pay for it you'll be a lot better off.

When my son was your age he was pretty skinny, maybe 135 but 5'10 or so, so I think you're probably doing pretty good so far. He's 21 now and probably around 170, he's not exactly a body builder but he is pretty darn tough, I'd say less than 10% body fat for sure. It took a while, but he really stronged up. He built up a good base by running and doing push-ups. He started with 3 km (2 mi) 3 times/wk and over a couple years worked up to 10 km (6 mi). After a run he he would throw down a bunch of pushups, I think he got up to 100. Over the last year he switched his diet to high protein (lots of meat + 2-3 shakes/day), and got a job working on a service rig, which is when he started putting on most of the extra mass.

So, if you've been training for 1.5 years, you should be roughly where he was a year ago, so it should be pretty easy for you to add some weight. All you will need to do is lift mind numbingly heavy weights, eat your weight in steak & chicken each week, and drink a gallon of milk mixed with protein powder every day. BTW that stuff's not cheap when you go through 5 lb a month, if your parents can pay for it you'll be a lot better off.

Alright, I am 18, and going to college in the fall. I want to get slightly larger before i go there as I will be with 20 year olds and all. I mean, it really doesn't matter much, but bigger is better. I weigh 135 ish at the moment, and am 5'4''. So yeah, not the biggest kid you'll see. I've been training for a year and a half surprisngly. Little gain, besides being fairly well defined and having good form and all that. I mean, I'm healthy, and vascular, but I want to get big. Ya know, the shorter the are the more important muscle mass is. Anyway, what kind of regimen should I get on. I know the whole eat eat eat thing but I got that, I need a workout. I've been doing dogcart training. Should I stick with that, or what? Uh, should i get on creatine? I could always just juice, but the seems rash at such a young age.

Actually getting big is depends on your hormone.You will find lot of medicine .But before taking this you should go to a doctor.

Yer only 18, so yer hardly done growing naturally.
You can always pound the supps, but most of yer progress will come via diet & routine.

A routine/style of training I like is the FST-7 stuff. I'm a sucker for high volume, & I responded real well. I put on a good 10-12lbs in about 1-2 months with nothing else but Up Your Mass & Animal Stak.

However, I think with only a year or so of serious lifting yer still fairly green. I would say to experiment with all the different training styles you can (high volume, HIT, etc.) & see what you respond to best.